An unlikely place to stargaze in D.C.: this week's Washington International Horse Show at Verizon Center. The annual event, one of the few held in a major city, attracts top riders from around the world -- including a few with very famous parents who show up to support their kids.

As a general rule, the VIP parents try to stay in the background: They sit in the stands like everyone else, trying to deflect attention from themselves to their children. In past years, Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa, Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw, and Bob and Sheila Johnson were spotted peering in the ring because their daughters -- Jessica, Destry and Paige -- are all accomplished equestrians with lots of ribbons and prizes. Alas, none of them is competing at the show this year.

This year's standouts include Georgina Bloomberg, the younger daughter of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg; and Hillary Dobbs, daughter of former CNN commentator Lou Dobbs, reports our colleague T. Rees Shapiro. At just 22, Hillary is a star in her own right -- the youngest rider to win more than $1 million in prize money.

But that's not the only reason she's attracting attention. Earlier this month, the Nation published a story charging that many of the workers who care for her horses are undocumented immigrants -- an issue her father has railed against and the center of his prospective Senate or presidential bids. The year-long investigation claims Dobbs has employed illegal workers for years at his New Jersey estate and other properties and estimates that half of the workers in the horse industry are not legally in the United States.

Her dad has denied the charges and called the article a "hit job" by a "left-wing activist, advocacy publication," he told MSNBC.

His daughter has stayed mum on the topic: She competed at the show Thursday night but didn't return our calls.

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